Why do I need this Employment Essentials Bundle?
Your business is growing and you need extra hands! In New Zealand, the law requires you to have a written employment agreement with any new employee. A written employment agreement is also important to ensure your new employee understands their rights and obligations.
As a responsible employer, you need to ensure you are offering a safe environment for your employees. Having Health and Safety, Bullying and Harassment and Drug and Alcohol policies in place helps you to comply with your important safety obligations and lets your employees know how you protect their well-being, what to do if they have concerns regarding their safety and what types of behaviour are not acceptable.
Having an Individual Employment Agreement with each employee and these important policies in place will enable you to get your employment relationships off on the right foot.
Who’s this Employment Essentials Bundle for?
Any New Zealand business hiring a person as a permanent, fixed term or casual employee. It may be your first employee or you may be adding to your team and want to ensure you are acting responsibly by having important safety policies in place.
What’s in this Employment Essentials Bundle?
Individual Employment Agreement: The Individual Employment Agreement has been designed by NZ lawyers for NZ businesses. It’s comprehensive but easy to understand with no unnecessary legalese. It contains lots of options so you can tailor it to suit your circumstances (by answering our simple questions).
The agreement outlines the key terms and conditions that will apply to the employment relationship between the business and its permanent, fixed term or casual employee. This includes whether a probationary or trial period will apply, how the employer will comply with its KiwiSaver obligations, pay structure (hourly wage, salary or commission), any additional bonuses or commission, any restraints on the employee after they leave your business, holiday and sick leave entitlements, notice periods and employee availability requirements.
Health and Safety Policy: Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 businesses are required to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of their workers. To comply with this obligation it is important you have clear policies and procedures regarding health and safety. This Health and Safety Policy outlines health and safety responsibilities for your business and its workers, and sets the expectation that workers constructively engage in health and safety matters.
Bullying and Harassment Policy: Your business should have clear procedures for workers to follow if they believe they are being bullied, harassed, victimised, or discriminated against at work. This Bullying and Harassment Policy outlines what behaviour is considered bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation, and how your business will address this behaviour. It is important that all workers are aware of the types of behaviour that are unacceptable and may result in disciplinary action or termination of employment/engagement.
Drug and Alcohol Policy: As part of your business’ responsibility to manage health and safety risks and take steps to eliminate or minimise these risks where possible, it is important to have policies and procedures in place to manage the risks associated with drug and alcohol use by your workers. This Drug and Alcohol Policy sets out a framework for reducing the potential harm of drug and alcohol use in the workplace and provides guidance to managers on testing requirements and disciplinary processes. It also outlines when a worker may be required to undertake a drug and/or alcohol test, the process for the testing, and what action may result.
How long will it take to create my documents?
Approx. 15-20 minutes - get it ticked off your to-do list! During the Q&A you can save your progress to come back later, or repeat the Q&A to change an answer or produce a new version of a document.
What do I do once my documents are created?
The Individual Employment Agreement is ready for you to provide to the employee as soon as you have downloaded it. The employee must be provided with a copy of the employment agreement, advised they are entitled to seek independent advice and given a reasonable opportunity to seek that advice, before signing.
The policies are ready for you to approve and use as soon as you download them. Please note that an employer is required to consult with its employees before implementing any workplace policy. We recommend advising your employees (in writing) of the proposed policy (and its proposed start date), providing a copy of the policy, and specifying a time period for your employees to provide feedback/input or raise concerns. After that, the policy can be introduced.
Other helpful information:
- Read our helpful blogs: Employee vs Contractor - What's the difference?, 90 trials periods are an option with any new employee.
- If you would like to speak to a lawyer regarding your documents (or for any other legal queries) see our specialist employment law firm partner Edwards Law here.
- You may also find these bundles or documents useful for your business: Individual employment policies, Individual Employment Agreement, Independent Contractor Agreement.
- Check out our FAQs here.
If you’re unsure whether this document is what you need, reach out to us at hello@onyourterms.co.nz – we’re happy to help!
This product has been prepared in collaboration with our employment law content partner, Edwards Law.
If you’re not satisfied with your purchase of this product for any reason, let us know why within 10 days of your purchase and we’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy, including giving you a full refund if necessary.
Disclaimer: On Your Terms was created to provide fast, easy and affordable access to legal information and documentation. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. The information and documents we provide are of a general nature, designed for common situations, and may not be suitable for your needs or circumstances. If you need legal advice, we have a network of specialist law firm partners able to help you here.